Syncope
by Marquise de Nile
Summary: When Sakura's fainting isn't funny anymore.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Originally this was posted on tumblr as unfinished snippet, but people liked it, so I decided to continue the story and post on FFN.

Contains non-explicit love scene.

 **.**

 **Syncope**

 **Chapter 1**

 **.**

Sasuke's return home went quite differently from what he imagined. He expected a brilliant smile and an overenthusiastic hug from his wife, then a quiet dinner in the company of the two most important women in his life. Instead, the moment Sakura saw him, she passed out cold. He managed to catch her in the nick of time before she hit the floor and hurt herself.

Sasuke hurriedly laid her down on the couch in the living room. He would have been insulted by such a reaction from her if he wasn't so worried. This was unlike the energetic Sakura he'd always known. He kneeled by her side and activated his doujutsu, scanning her chakra just in case, but everything appeared to be normal. Her levels were slightly down as could be only expected after a full day of activity. He brushed the soft pink strands off her face, noting the unhealthy paleness of her skin.

"Does this happen often to her?" Sasuke asked his daughter.

Sarada shrugged. "From time to time. It's nothing serious. She'll wake up in a few minutes like always."

Sasuke hesitated, but Sarada's calm demeanor convinced him to let the matter drop. If she thought this was nothing out of ordinary, then he'd trust her judgment.

He clasped Sakura's hand in his and caressed her knuckles gently before taking her pulse. The steady beat reassured him.

"Papa, you can go clean up now. We're having salmon for dinner," Sarada told him. When he hesitated, she sighed with exasperation, putting her hands on her hips. "I told you, Mama's fine. Go on."

With one last lingering look at Sakura, Sasuke retreated to the bathroom.

Just as Sarada promised, when he returned Sakura was already up and busy with plating their dinner. He watched her for a moment to make sure she was fine.

"Darling!" she exclaimed when she turned. Thankfully, she didn't faint again at the sight of him.

"Need some help?" he asked.

"No, no, I'll take care of this!" she said vehemently. "Go sit down, I'll bring this up right away."

Sasuke pursed his lips, wanting to argue, but he knew how stubborn she could be. He slowly backed out of the kitchen, keeping an eye on her as discreetly as possible. Sarada still gave him an amused look when he joined her at the table. Despite the years of separation, his daughter saw right through his cool facade.

As their family evening progressed, Sasuke gradually relaxed. Sakura and Sarada filled him in on all the news. Sakura acting like her usual cheery self gave him some peace of mind.

After they all retired for the night, Sasuke went straight to bed, but he didn't sleep yet. He waited up for Sakura patiently. When she finally entered their bedroom with rosy cheeks from the hot bath, he couldn't take his eyes off her. She smiled radiantly and crossed the short distance to the bed, her eyes gleaming with mischief. She crawled in and hovered over him like a playful kitten. Being so close to her without touching was more than a little frustrating, but Sasuke forced himself to remain calm and placid in face of such a temptation.

"Sasuke-kun, are you tired?" she purred.

"I'm not the one who fainted today," he pointed out.

Sakura's gaze narrowed at the blunt reminder of her little episode and she sat up. "I was just surprised to see you back so suddenly," she explained. "It was... unexpected."

"Just like my wife fainting at the sight of me," he shot back. "It wasn't the welcome _I_ expected."

He didn't divulge that a lance of fear and guilt had pierced his heart when she'd collapsed, an irrational part of him blaming himself for it as if he was somehow responsible. As if he brought some dark curse with himself that targeted those closest to him.

Sakura groaned and lowered herself, burying her head against his neck, so he wouldn't see her face. His arm automatically curled around her back in a hug.

"Please, don't be unreasonable. You should have sent a message that you were coming back," she mumbled. Her hot breath on his skin and their closeness distracted him from his dark thoughts.

"Maybe..." he allowed, his mind already on other, more pleasant things. His hand slipped under her nightgown.

Sakura trembled under his touch. So soft, so smooth, so willing. "Ah... Sa-Sasuke-kun..." she moaned his name and the dam broke. He couldn't hold back anymore and neither could she.

Sasuke brought her face up for a searing kiss, then flipped her on her back.

Afterwards, as they laid together among the tousled sheets, both comfortably worn out and dozing off, Sakura gave him a small peck on the lips. Sasuke blinked sleepily at her, wondering what was that for.

Sakura only smiled. "Welcome home," she whispered. "I didn't get to say it to you properly before." She cuddled up to him with a happy sigh. "It's good to have you back, Sasuke-kun," she muttered, her eyes drifting shut.

 _It's good to be back_ , he thought contently and fell asleep. The corners of his lips were turned up ever so slightly.

.

It was an early morning two days later. Sasuke was stealthily getting dressed for the morning practice. He kept a close eye on Sakura, careful not to wake her up. His efforts were wasted when a loud noise invaded their bedroom through the open window.

Sakura woke up in an instant. She grabbed the alarm clock from the nightstand and squinted at the hour. She gasped.

"I'm going to be late!"

Sasuke stifled a chuckle at her morning antics. The quiet amusement quickly fled him when Sakura leapt out of the bed, then all of a sudden she swayed on her feet, hands going up to cradle her head. She'd have fallen over if he wasn't fast enough to put her in a secure hold.

For a moment, all they could both hear was the sound of their harsh breathing. After a long while Sakura regained her equilibrium.

"Thanks for the save, darling," she said shakily and pulled out of his grasp.

"What was that?" he asked with a touch of alarm.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just got up too fast and lost my vision for a few seconds there. It happens to many people in the morning," she explained with a bright, reassuring smile, treating the incident like it was no big deal.

Normally, Sasuke wouldn't question her, she was the medical expert between the two of them after all, but he still vividly remembered her recent fainting spell when he'd come back home.

"Sakura, are you sure-"

"I'm fine!" she cut him off with a smile. "As I said, it's pretty common. I've got low sugar in the morning. I just need to eat breakfast and I'll be back to work in no time!" Her eyes widened comically. "Oh no! I have to hurry!"

Sasuke had to grab her again to explain that she didn't have a shift, because she didn't work on Saturday mornings. He let the fainting matter drop for the time, though he didn't forget about it completely. However, the daily life went on in the Uchiha household, and as the days passed, stretching into weeks without any more similar incidents, he relaxed. Sakura must have had a few off days when he'd initially returned.

Then, one day he came home early, so he decided to start on dinner. Sasuke always enjoyed cooking, but with his two girls around insisting to feed him he never got much of a chance to make anything. He smirked, imagining their surprise when they got home to a warm meal prepared by his truly.

Sasuke put on his wife's apron and got to work, chopping up vegetables skillfully. Even one-handed, he wielded the kitchen knife with an expert skill.

By the time the girls would arrive, the rice was perfectly cooked and Sasuke was putting finishing touches on his creation. He nodded to himself with satisfaction and checked the clock. All that was left for him was to wait for Sakura and Sarada to come home.

Sasuke sat at the table and turned on TV, however when Naruto's face filled the screen, he hurriedly pressed the off button on the remote. He wasn't in the mood to watch another of the Hokage speeches for the general public. With TV out, Sasuke looked for another distraction.

A little speck of ruddy brown on the table's corner drew his attention. He leaned down to inspect the strange mark. Did something spill there?

He looked down and discovered more brownish spots on the floor. He brushed some of the substance off the corner with his thumb and put it up to his eye-level. By the faint smell and texture, he finally realized what it was.

Dried blood.

Sasuke ignored the uneasiness creeping over him. A little blood in the house of three active ninjas wasn't exactly a cause for worry. From the amount and placement of the spots he concluded that someone probably scraped themselves against the table this morning. He'd wager it was a head injury.

There were only two options, Sarada or Sakura, but his gut feeling immediately chose his wife as the most likely culprit. In his mind's eye he could already see her fall, overcome by sudden dizziness, her head glancing off the table's corner and the blood dripping from the fresh cut.

He felt a sting in his Rinnegan. Sasuke rubbed at the eye, still caught up in the very detailed, life-like vision of what could have happened to Sakura, but he didn't get any time to analyze it, because the phone rang.

Sasuke picked it up swiftly. "Uchiha residence."

"Hello, is- is this Uchiha Sasuke-san?" The feminine voice on the other side was hesitant. He didn't recognize it.

"Speaking," Sasuke said shortly.

The woman inhaled, preparing herself to say whatever she needed. Sasuke only wished she would hurry up and spit it out.

"Uchiha-san, your wife was just admitted to the hospital. She collapsed in her office and-"

"I'll be there," he cut her off and put down the receiver with more force than necessary.

He had enough presence of mind left to turn off the stove and take off the apron before heading out. The family dinner was officially cancelled, but he couldn't bring himself to care. All that mattered was Sakura.

Sakura who collapsed at work. After she had possibly ( _most likely_ ) fallen over just this morning in their living room. He didn't know how or why, he had no proof, but he was convinced that his vision was true. And he hadn't been there to intervene and stop her from going to work. What was she even thinking?

Sasuke clamped down on his emotions before they got the best of him. First he needed to get to the bottom of this. He rushed to the hospital. To Sakura and, hopefully, some answers.

.

AN: Thanks for reading! Second chapter will be coming soon.

Reviews will be appreciated! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Syncope**

 **Chapter 2**

 **.**

All conversations were cut the moment Uchiha Sasuke strode into the hospital as if he owned the place. The focused, dangerous aura around the man was intimidating to say the least, especially to those who didn't recognize him.

Sasuke ignored the wary looks sent in his direction and without wasting any time stalked to the main desk, cutting in front of a waiting line.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Sir, there's a queue, you can't just..." the foolish receptionist attempted to obstruct him but one menacing glare had her properly cowed.

"Where is my wife," he repeated himself. "Uchiha Sakura. She works here. You may know her."

He observed with satisfaction as the receptionist turned white as a sheet.

"You-You're Sakura-sama's husband! I'm terribly sorry!" The woman's fingers flew across the keyboard as she quickly checked information on her computer. "She's in room 205, second floor."

When she raised her eyes, Sasuke was already gone.

He came in without knocking. Tsunade's other student was there, but he paid her no mind. His eyes were only on Sakura as he crossed the distance to the bed. She was still passed out and deathly pale, with a compress on her forehead.

"Ah, you're here already," Shizune noticed. "Sakura's going to be okay, she only blacked out. She should be fine after getting some rest."

"Why does this keep happening to her?" Sasuke asked.

"What do you mean? I thought the last time she fainted was when she destroyed your house," Shizune inquired in alarm.

Sasuke spared her an irritated glower. She called herself a medical jonin and she had no idea about the repeating incidents? As Sakura's friend and coworker, she should have noticed it sooner than him.

"She faints often. I think she did this morning before going to work," he explained briskly.

"How often? Can you describe those fainting spells?" Shizune asked professionally, but a genuine worry was reflecting in her eyes.

Sasuke briefly summarized what he knew. When he finished, Shizune looked livid. "There's nothing about this in her file! How could she hide something like this, from me! Tsunade-sama taught her better!"

But beneath the anger, there was a sliver of fear shining through the cracks. And what scared a veteran medic had to be a cause for real concern.

"Do you know what's wrong with Sakura?" Sasuke asked directly.

"No. Not yet." Shizune sighed and deflated. "I'd like her to stay for observation for a few days. I'll run some tests on her," she explained. "She's got a spare toothbrush and a change of clothes in her office, but anything else you'll have to bring her from home."

Sasuke nodded and took a seat on the bedside, watching his unconscious wife. Her chest rose and fell in a steady breath.

"If you're staying, change her compress every fifteen minutes," Shizune instructed. She stopped by the doorway, then looked at him. "And Sasuke... don't worry, we'll figure this out," she said reassuringly before leaving. The clicks of her sensible heels on the linoleum faded in the distance.

Sasuke would've liked to believe her, but he wasn't a naïve optimist. If there was a medical condition Sakura hadn't cured herself from by now, he should definitely worry. Sasuke leaned closer to her to brush a stray piece of pink hair out of his wife's face.

He was changing the compress when the door behind him opened.

"Papa?" his daughter asked, lingering in the doorway. She always hesitated when she thought she was interrupting a private moment between her parents.

"Come in, Sarada," Sasuke invited her calmly as he put the fresh compress on Sakura's forehead with precision.

Sarada took a second chair and seated herself next to him on Sakura's bedside.

"How is Mama? Is she going to be okay?" she asked, the fear in her voice making her sound less like a skilled kunoichi and more like a child that needs her father to make everything better.

Sasuke wanted to reassure her, but he detested lies, so he chose a third way. "Probably. They're going to figure out why she's sick," he said.

Sarada nodded with obvious relief. "That's good," she said. "Why didn't she tell us anything? I thought her fainting was normal."

Sasuke was asking himself the same question. He looked at his daughter. She bit her lip, struggling with something she wanted to say, expression dark as she gazed intently at her mother's unconscious face as if trying to read her mind.

"Today when I came home and no one was there, I thought she had to take another shift, not that something dangerous happened to her," Sarada said quietly at last. "Papa, she could have fainted in some alley and I wouldn't have thought to look for her. I only called her office because I wanted to know what groceries to pick up for tomorrow's dinner," she confessed guiltily, eyes shiny with tears.

Sasuke drew her in a careful embrace and Sarada clung to him as she fought the emerging sobs. She wasn't winning.

"Sarada, you had no reason to expect something bad would happen to any of us. We have peaceful times now and your mother is a powerful kunoichi. She's capable of keeping her secrets if she wants to."

"But I should have noticed something was wrong with her!" Sarada cried out. "I live with her all my life, I should know what's normal for her or not!"

"And I'm her husband. I know her since we were children," Sasuke pointed out. "In my memory, she fainted only once because of genjutsu and it was when we barely made genin. I knew fainting wasn't like her and I did nothing. So I deserve the blame far more than you."

That got through to Sarada who gaped at him in disbelief and then a flicker of understanding.

"Papa, no... that's not fair," she said in a subdued tone. "But I see your point." She sighed.

Sasuke was satisfied that he stopped her from the downward spiral of pointless self-recrimination, a destructive path he knew too well for travelling it himself too many times. He didn't wish this on his daughter.

"Papa, what do we do now?" Sarada asked. "I'm not even a medic ninja... It's so annoying. Mama needs help the most now and I can't do anything for her..."

He definitely could relate to his daughter in their mutual frustration over this. He mulled her question over. Curing Sakura was in the hands of the qualified medics, but there were other things they could do.

"We could work on improving your perceptiveness, if you want. And you should be able to learn medical ninjutsu quickly, you have your mother's chakra control," Sasuke told her with pride. What he came up with wasn't much, but it was only supposed to give Sarada a measure of comfort. Bettering skills one thought were lacking was a useful way to cope with feelings of uselessness.

Sarada brightened at his suggestions. "Thanks, Papa."

Sasuke had never been more pleased with receiving a surprise kiss on the cheek.

.

Sakura woke up in the early morning, disoriented when the first thing she saw was the hospital ceiling. _Did I stay up doing paperwork late again?_ She wondered in confusion. She had stopped doing that when Sasuke had returned home.

A movement at her side caught her attention and there he was, her husband sleeping in the chair. He was leaning back, almost sliding off the seat, but he managed to still look dignified with his hand elegantly resting on his stomach. Then he shifted a little to find a more comfortable position and emitted a soft snore.

Sakura's light giggle woke him up. Sasuke cracked his eyes open, then rubbed his face groggily, stifling a yawn.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Sakura said, smothering another giggle.

Like an elite ninja he was, Sasuke quickly became fully alert. He met her eyes confidently in an intense stare as he stretched out languidly and sat up in the chair in a smooth, cat-like move. Sakura blushed a little at this display and he smirked. He could make the simplest things look so hot just by the virtue of him doing it and she absolutely loved him for it, but this wasn't a time to get distracted by her husband's magnetic moves.

"Um, darling, why are we in the hospital?" she asked.

All playfulness drained away from his demeanor and he gave her a flat look. "For the same reason you're always fainting. Why didn't you tell me that you're ill?" It wasn't quite accusation, but his tone belied his displeasure.

Sakura met his gaze levelly. "It's nothing to worry about."

He said nothing, but his expression said it all. He didn't believe her.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to explain. "I have everything under control. It's not even contagious. I checked. Sometimes I just get tired, the blood doesn't flow well into my head and I get dizzy. I heal myself, get some rest and everything's okay then."

Sasuke remained unconvinced. "You should tell someone if there's something wrong with your health. If not me, then Shizune. She's a medic," he insisted.

His tone was measured, but she knew these words coming from her stoic husband gave testament to how affected he was by her condition. He was imploring her to listen and take care of herself.

"Sarada came here last night too. She would have stayed up all night with me but I sent her back home to sleep. She didn't want to leave you," Sasuke added with a hint of rebuke.

All at once, Sakura felt shamed by her own negligence. She didn't realize that her actions meant specifically not to worry her family could cause even more worry to them.

"Oh god... I'm so sorry," she whispered with a stricken expression. "I was so stupid, wasn't I, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, smiling through the film of tears in her eyes.

"So stop being stupid. It's not like you," he replied with a grumble and poked her forehead. The upward arch of his mouth suggested he wasn't angry at her.

Sakura found Sasuke's steady presence comforting when she went through the barrage of various examinations issued by Shizune. Her blood was drawn and her body was scanned by multitude of machines. The tests took the whole day and by the end of it she was sick of it. She vastly preferred to be on the other side of the poking and prodding procedures.

She felt well enough, so there was no reason to stay overnight. With enough persuasion, Sakura managed to get released from hospital under the promise of taking a few days off work.

"We're home," she announced cheerfully, slipping off her sandals in the entrance.

"Mama?!" Sarada exclaimed in surprise, then ran out of the kitchen and excitedly hugged Sakura. "You're okay!"

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you." Sakura stroked her daughter's hair lightly. "Do I smell dinner?" she asked, sniffing.

"Yeah, come and eat. Papa, you too!" Sarada tugged Sakura to the table, chatting about things while Sasuke watched them fondly as he hang his coat, then followed.

Sarada served the food alone. She had forbidden Sakura from helping.

"This looks amazing! Did you cook it all by yourself?" Sakura asked her daughter incredulously.

"Actually, Papa cooked it yesterday. I just heated it up for us," Sarada said modestly.

Sakura gave Sasuke an appreciative look. "Well then, we can't let it go to waste. Itadakimasu!"

They all dug in and for a moment, everything was perfect for the Uchiha family. The delicious meal shared together as they chatted in high spirits became a treasured memory in the times to come.

Sakura put away her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I'm stuffed. This was delicious, dear. Thank you both," she complimented Sasuke and Sarada. "I'm going to turn in now."

Sakura stood up, then swerved dangerously, grabbing the table for support. Blood gushed from her nose and she choked, then spat out more crimson on her hand. She stared at it in shock, like she didn't understand what she was seeing.

"What the..." Sakura didn't finish, because her eyes rolled to the back of her skull and she lost consciousness.

Sasuke and Sarada cried out for her in alarm and jumped out of their seats to the rescue. Sasuke, who was closer, managed to catch her body before she hit the ground and hurt herself more. He shook her lightly. "Sakura, wake up! Sakura!" But she wasn't responding, only blood continued dripping from her nose and staining the front of her red shirt.

"What's wrong with her?! What do I do?!" Sarada asked frantically, looking to her father for direction.

He made a split second decision as he stood up, lifting Sakura into his arms. She seemed light like a feather to him.

"Call the hospital! I'm bringing her there!"

.

The waiting room was bright and cold. Sarada was sitting in a plastic chair, leaning forward, almost bowing, forehead resting on her hands clasped together, so that her face wasn't showing. Not that Sasuke needed to see it—he knew it was pale and drawn with a terrible worry. His daughter was scared for her mother's life. They both were.

He was too keyed up to sit in one of those small, uncomfortable chairs, so he remained standing with his back to the wall and eyes trained on the emergency room. His scattered thoughts inevitably wandered into one direction he preferred to avoid. The last time he lost someone so precious to him that even after all these years he still felt the empty hollowness in his heart in the shape of him.

 _This is completely different. Sakura isn't like Itachi,_ Sasuke told himself stubbornly, glaring at the closed door. If his Mangekyo was activated, he could've incidentally combusted it.

Sasuke glanced at the clock. The hand barely moved from the last time he checked the time, but it felt like it had been ages. Sasuke clenched his jaw in irritation and kept waiting.

After what seemed like eternity, though in reality only a little over one hour passed since he'd brought Sakura to the hospital, the door of the emergency room opened. Both Uchihas snapped their heads up in anticipation.

Shizune came out of the room and in a flash they were both right before her.

"How is Mama? Did you heal her?" Sarada asked.

"She's stable... for now. But she'll have to stay in hospital for more treatment."

"So you know what's wrong with her?" Sasuke demanded.

Shizune shook her head regretfully. "I'm not sure. It's something new. I've never seen anything exactly like this before. I need to get those test results first to make a better diagnosis."

"I don't care how sure you are, you must know something. Just tell us what it is," Sasuke ordered.

Shizune took a step back. "Alright..." she gave in after a pleading look from Sarada. "From what I observed, it works in a similar fashion to autoimmune diseases. But in Sakura's case, it's chakra-based."

"Speak plainly," Sasuke said with a frown.

"In layman's terms, Sakura's chakra is attacking her own body," Shizune explained with a grave look. "And if we don't find a way to stop it, it's going to kill her."

.

AN: Thanks for reading!

Please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Syncope**

 **Chapter 3**

 **.**

It was that night happening all over again. Sasuke was running through the Uchiha district, slipping on the blood flowing down the streets from the slaughtered bodies of his clan. He'd lived through this nightmare thousands of times and it still struck the same unadulterated terror in his heart. But this time something was different. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a splash of pink among the monochromatic corpses. This wrenched an anguished cry out of him, but he couldn't turn back and see if it was really her... he had no control over his body, trapped in this world until it all played out.

He arrived at his house to the scene of Itachi mercilessly cutting down their parents. Their lifeless bodies fell on the tatami in a mess of limbs. Itachi turned to him with a crazily spinning Mangekyo and then the scene changed.

Sasuke was paralyzed, stuck in one spot. Older Itachi was coming up to him, bloodied, injured, but smiling, a hand lifted up for that last forehead poke. Suddenly, he coughed up blood, the black hair turned to pink and it was Sakura standing right in front of him, blood pouring out of her mouth, nose and eyes. She gave him a macabre smile and touched his forehead.

"There won't be a next time," she said.

Her skin blackened and cracked. Sasuke pitched forward, to catch her, fix her, put her back together, but he only grabbed on the air as she turned into dust right before his eyes.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke shot up in the bed, sweating and panting like after a long run. He wiped his forehead and glanced at the alarm clock. It had been barely two hours since he'd gone to sleep. He swung his legs over the edge and got out of bed. He was in no mood to try sleeping again. Without Sakura there, their bed felt unwelcoming, almost hostile to him.

Sasuke padded to the bathroom and took a cold shower. Next he checked in on Sarada. At least she was sleeping soundly, though she was clutching onto a thick medical tome in her sleep. She must have stayed up late, reading it until exhaustion, looking for some clue to cure her mother. Sasuke smiled proudly at his diligent, stubborn child. Just recently she was showing him and Sakura that she learned how to heal a fish.

Sasuke carefully slipped the glasses off Sarada's nose and set them on her nightstand, then did the same with the book, replacing it cleverly with a stuffed panda. Sarada's nose slightly wrinkled, but she didn't stir.

He would have liked to sneak into Sakura's hospital room to watch over her, but Shizune forbid him from staying after the visiting hours. Normally he wouldn't care less about her opinion, however Sakura took her side and told him to go home and get some rest.

Sasuke snorted. Obviously it didn't work.

Unwilling to go to sleep again, he settled himself cross-legged on the porch and whiled away the night in meditation, but even that was plagued by recollections of the past two months. Still, he'd take the meager rest gained from meditation over another hellish nightmare.

When the sun finally rose, Sasuke prepared breakfast for Sarada to eat when she wakes up. He didn't touch the food—even if he tried, he wouldn't have been able to swallow anything.

On his way to the hospital he stopped by the flower shop. The bell at the entrance rang when he entered.

"Welcome! Oh, hi Sasuke!" Ino greeted him as she looked up from the register. "Is it already that day? Do you want the usual?"

"Aa."

Ino picked the daffodils, Sakura's favourite flowers, and wrapped them in a paper, filling the place with a friendly chatter. Sasuke just grunted here and there, pretending to listen, though he didn't miss that instead of the three flowers, which stood for the three members of his family, she gave him two more.

"These are from me and Sai," Ino explained with a wink. "Tell Sakura to get better and that I'll drop by today, okay?" Suddenly, she dropped the cheer. "And Sasuke... you take care too. Don't lose heart. Things are looking bad now, I know, but Sakura's tough. We all just have to believe in her."

Sasuke nodded, unsure of what to say, paid for the bouquet and headed out.

He arrived at the hospital at nine on the dot, when the visiting hours started. Sakura was wide awake after taking her medicine. He changed the flowers in the vase and sat in the visitor's chair he'd already claimed as his own.

"You brought more flowers," Sakura noticed right away. "Ino forgot how to count to three?"

Sasuke smirked at that. His wife's rivalry with her best friend was amusing when they weren't fighting for him. "No, they're a gift for you."

"At least it's not another teddy bear. I've got so many here, I don't know where to put them anymore," Sakura complained jokingly. He glanced at the table covered with get well cards, plushies and assortment of other gifts. It still astounded him how many people's lives Sakura had touched. "Tell Ino I appreciate the flowers."

"You can tell her yourself," Sasuke replied, relaying Ino's message.

They kept talking about anything that came to mind. Sakura was curious about everything that happened outside the hospital walls and Sasuke did his best to indulge her. But no matter how hard she pretended to act normally, he could see how quickly she was getting tired. Her responses came slower and shorter, until she stopped talking altogether and just closed her eyes, so he just sat with her in silence, holding her bony, small hand in his big palm.

In moments like this, those quiet moments, Sasuke allowed himself to be hit by the severity of the situation. Everyone else was fooled by Sakura's facade of strength. They thought she'd heal in no time, because she was the best medic on the planet. They believed that Konoha's state of art medical care which she had established herself would save her. Sasuke couldn't blame anyone for thinking that, he'd believed the same too, at first. Now he wasn't under any such illusions.

Once the illness took a solid foothold in Sakura's body, it was impossible to fight off by conventional means. Sakura's chakra was her most powerful weapon and it was turned against her. It took all of Shizune's efforts to barely keep it at bay while she and her best team of medics scrambled in search for a cause of this terrifying sickness. It had been two months and they still couldn't find a cure. Ironically, the one person that could have made the most progress with this case was the patient herself. But Sakura's dwindling energy was all focused on the survival of her failing body.

In the beginning stages of her illness, her incredible chakra control as well as siphoning a portion of her chakra into the Byakugou seal slowed down the damage to her body, with only the fainting and fatigue as side effects. Any other human wouldn't have lasted as long as she'd had—an astounding two years before the sickness developed enough to attack her with full force.

As they found by trial, chakra blockers were the most effective method of treatment, but it was only buying them more time to find the real cure, time they were starting to run out of as Sakura's ravaged body weakened with every day. Her own chakra was eating away at her from the inside with a lightning speed and all Sasuke could do was helplessly watch his wife's body wasting away right before his eyes.

When Sakura dozed off, Sasuke slipped out of her room for a short trip to the hospital cafeteria. He desperately needed caffeine after another restless night. When he came back, he heard voices inside the room. He recognized Naruto's familiar timbre followed by a weak laugh from Sakura which ended in a coughing fit. A wave of irritation swept over Sasuke. What was that idiot doing in the hospital, bothering a sick person? Didn't he have a village to run?

Sasuke opened the door with a little too much strength. He found Naruto in _his_ chair, holding out a glass of water to Sakura who was sipping carefully through the straw. A loud eyesore of a bouquet was stuffed in the vase on the nightstand, daffodils completely hidden from sight behind the large sunflowers. The flowers were swaying lightly on the breeze coming from the wide open window.

"Hi, Sasuke!" Naruto greeted in an upbeat way that awakened in Sasuke an urge to strangle him.

"What are you doing here, you dumbass?" he snapped and shut the window close.

"What's bit you in the ass, bastard? I'm just visiting Sakura-chan," Naruto replied ignorantly. He didn't have a single clue of what he'd almost done. Sasuke's already shortened fuse blew up.

"You're only going to make her worse with your idiocy! What if she caught a cold?! In her state it could kill her!" Sasuke exploded. "Do you want to kill her?! Is that it?! Is this the final punishment for me?!"

Naruto gaped at him, for once rendered speechless. "Sasuke... you..." he managed to utter in shock.

"I asked Naruto to open the window, Sasuke-kun," Sakura cut in calmly. "It was stuffy in here."

Sasuke blinked. He felt as if a bucket of ice cold water was upturned over his head and the angry red filter was lifted off his vision. "Ah..." he choked out stupidly. He scratched at his stubbled jaw, overcome by acute embarrassment over his foolish overreaction.

Sakura and Naruto exchanged a look, then Naruto finally stood up from Sasuke's chair. "You look like you need some fresh air. How about we let Sakura-chan get some rest? Come on," he said, steering Sasuke back towards the door.

"But Sakura-"

"Go on, Sasuke-kun. Have fun," she said with a reassuring smile.

Sasuke let Naruto drag him outside. They ended up on the roof of the hospital. Sasuke tried to ignore the memory of their fight in this place and how Sakura had jumped between them. If he dwelled on it too much, it could become fuel for another twisted nightmare.

Naruto turned to him with a grin. "Want to spar?"

"What?" Sasuke blurted out.

"Come on, I didn't have a good spar in a while. Just hand to hand, nothing fancy. Or are you afraid I'm going to beat you up with my bare hands?" Naruto asked.

It was a transparent bait, but Sasuke still took it out of habit. "In your dreams," he scoffed.

Naruto punched out, Sasuke parried and countered, and the spar was on.

When they finished wailing at each other (Naruto insisted that he won, but it was a draw), they sat down on the roof and soaked in the sun as their breathing calmed down.

"That was fun," Naruto remarked. Sasuke made a humming sound in agreement. Fighting Naruto without any hard feelings between them was pretty relaxing. He could lose himself in the movement, blow, dodge, counter, a familiar pattern of attack and defense. He could finally stop thinking about Sakura...

A wave of guilt and self-loathing slammed into him. His wife was terminally ill and he wanted not to think about her? What kind of a husband was he?

"I need to go back to Sakura," Sasuke said and made to get up, but Naruto grabbed his arm.

"Wait. I actually wanted to talk to you about her."

Sasuke gave him a look and sat down. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"Well, Sakura-chan's really ill. I was thinking that maybe if I gave her some of Kurama's chakra, it could help, maybe?" Naruto suggested.

Sasuke shook his head. "Chakra injections don't work. They already tried. When the chakra is assimilated into her system, it gets infected and attacks her."

"Damn," Naruto muttered with a frown. "So she can't use her Byakugou seal to heal herself?"

"That would kill her instantly. When the chakra is just stored in the seal, it's dormant and it can't hurt her."

Naruto swore again, looking really troubled. He assumed a concentrated thinking look on his face, then he brightened with a new idea. "Hey, what if I send someone to get grandma Tsunade? She'd heal Sakura-chan right away!"

"You realize that contacting Tsunade was the first thing they did?"

"What, and even she can't help?" Naruto asked in surprise.

Sasuke shrugged. "Sakura says the current medicine has advanced a lot since Tsunade retired. She doesn't know anything more than the medics here."

"Is there nothing we can do? I'm the Hokage, there should be something! We can't let Sakura-chan die just like that!" Naruto cried out in frustration.

Sasuke stayed silent, wrestling with himself. He'd already pondered about this for weeks. The last, desperate chance he'd rather not take, unless there was no other choice. He hated it and he knew Sakura wouldn't like it too. But they were really running out of options.

"Bastard, you have some idea, I can see it," Naruto said.

Sasuke sighed and told him.

.

He slipped into Sakura's room after dark, even though he shouldn't have come there. It was quiet and still, only the soft beeping of machines monitoring her health and the drip of IV. Sasuke kneeled by the bed and gazed down at his wife. With her eyes closed and hands clasped together over the sheet, she looked like she might be already dead. Through the Rinnegan he saw the small flame of her chakra burning out all of her strength and vitality from within.

With a trembling hand, Sasuke touched her hair first. It was so thin and straw-like. Next he very gently traced her face with his fingerpads, stopping at her pale, bloodless lips.

Sasuke swallowed and put his only hand over her frail one. He rubbed warmth into her cool fingers.

"I'll come back with the cure. I promise. Just hold on, Sakura," he whispered, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Please."

"Sasu... ke... kun..." she mumbled through her sleep.

He waited with bated breath to see if she'd wake up, but she slept on. Sasuke put another kiss on the back of her hand, then stood up. He had to go, but he lingered a moment longer, Sharingan activated to remember Sakura as she was before he left. She was deteriorating so fast... he needed to come back quickly.

Or there would never be the next time.

Sasuke gathered all of his determination to save her and walked out of the room. He was travelling lightly, with only a small pack slung over his shoulder. To his relief, the road to the gate was empty. He didn't want to deal with nosy people gawking at him and questioning his departure. Everyone who needed to know he was going was already informed.

"Papa! Papa, wait up!"

He stopped walking, allowing Sarada to catch up to him. He left her a note explaining his plans, but he should have expected she'd want to say goodbye in person.

Or not, he realized when he saw her backpack.

"I'm coming with you! Please!" Sarada said with determination.

But Sasuke was unmoved. "I can't let you come along. It's dangerous."

"Papa, please! I'm not a child anymore, I'm a shinobi. Let me help save Mama," his daughter argued, putting her hands on her hips. She looked so much like Sakura when she wanted to get her way that Sasuke's heart throbbed in pain.

"Then who's going to stay with your mother?" Sasuke asked, hoping Sarada would see reason and give up on her idea right away.

"Me, for example." A masked man walked out of the shadows, hands in pockets.

"Kakashi," Sasuke said without a hint of surprise. He'd seen the presence long before his old teacher showed himself.

"Sakura's my favourite student, you know. I'll watch over her for you, read her some books. If you two hurry up, she won't even notice you were gone."

"Thanks, Uncle Kakashi!" Sarada beamed at him.

"I still didn't give you a permission to come, Sarada," Sasuke said sharply.

"Papa!" she cried out in protest.

Kakashi coughed. "Actually, that's why I'm here." He pulled out a mission scroll and threw it to Sasuke. "The Seventh assigned Sarada to come with you for this mission."

Sasuke opened the scroll and skimmed it. "Tch. That dobe," he muttered, annoyed with Naruto's meddling.

"This could be good for both of you, Sasuke," Kakashi said conversationally. "You've never gone on a mission with Sarada before, correct? Think of it as a new family bonding experience."

Sasuke gave him an unimpressed look. "I don't consider bringing my daughter into dangerous places a fun idea for family time," he shot back sarcastically.

Kakashi shrugged. "Do you accept the mission?"

"Like I have any choice." Sasuke rolled up the scroll and pocketed it. He'd rather set it on fire and shove it up Naruto's ass, but he kept this opinion to himself.

"I can go then?" Sarada asked to make sure.

"You can, but you have to do everything I say on this mission, Sarada," he told her seriously. "You will stay close to me and you will not trust anyone there. If I tell you to run, you will run, no questions asked."

"I understand," Sarada said with a nod.

"Good."

"Have a safe trip, you two," Kakashi gave his farewells. "Sarada, do me a favour and watch out for your old man, will you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and started walking. Kakashi never ceased to be an irritant.

"Sarada, come," he called his daughter.

She ran up to his side and together they passed the village gates. They walked through the forest in silence for a few minutes.

"Papa, please don't be angry with the Seventh. I kind of... asked him to send me with you," Sarada confessed quietly.

Sasuke sighed. "I'm not angry. I just don't want to put you at risk, not when your mother's already..." he cut himself off.

"I know," Sarada whispered with understanding. "But that's why we're going. For Mama. And I'm not weak, I promise I won't slow you down."

"Aa." Sasuke never doubted in his daughter's ability. He only feared the cruel and fickle fate getting to her too, like it did to the rest of his family. If even Sakura wasn't safe...

"Besides," Sarada added resolutely, "if I'm with you, I'm definitely going to be okay." She shot him a confident smile, which he returned. Her confidence in him was humbling, but it also made him feel more at peace.

"Papa, so where are we going?" Sarada asked curiously, hands clasped behind her back as she peered up at him.

"You've already been there with me." When she gave him a confused look, he specified. "We're going to Orochimaru's lair."

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think about the chapter and see you next time :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Syncope**

 **Chapter 4**

 **.**

When the door to her hospital room opened, Sakura expected to see her husband, punctual and precise to the fault, and underneath it all so, so tired. He never said anything, but she noticed that he was getting more and more tired of everything—of the hospital, of the false hopes, of her illness. Sakura hated herself for thinking like this, for doubting him, but she couldn't get rid of a deep-seated fear that one day he'd just get tired of her and leave. What use he had for a sick, bed-ridden wife? She was only bringing him trouble.

She started to think that maybe she should just end it quickly. It would be kinder to both of them, heroic even. She'd be sparing them both so much unnecessary suffering. Sarada would take it hard, but she was young and children were resilient. With her father there, she'd bounce back from the loss and become an excellent kunoichi. Be happy. That's all Sakura ever wanted for her daughter.

When instead of Sasuke, Kakashi appeared in her doorway, Sakura knew that her fears came true. The realization took her breath away. She didn't even consider any other explanation for Sasuke's absence. She knew her husband too well. If he was still in the village, he would have come to her.

Sasuke left.

Sakura's eyes were stinging with tears, so she quickly turned her back to Kakashi and pressed her face into the pillows, hiding the emotion.

"Yo! How's my favourite student doing today?" he asked gently, pretending he didn't see anything. She was thankful for his tact, though she wished he'd leave her alone.

"I'm sick, sensei," she mumbled into the pillow. "Go away and let me rest in peace."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Sakura. I came here to read you some books and if your husband hears I ditched you, he won't like it."

Sakura froze, then turned her head to peer up at Kakashi. He gave her the crinkled, masked smile.

"Sasuke went to find a cure for you, Sakura. You know he's not a type to just sit around and do nothing when his loved one needs help," he answered her unspoken question.

"Yeah..." Sakura croaked out and wiped her reddened eyes as a wave of relief coursed through her. She felt ridiculous and foolish. Of course Sasuke-kun wouldn't abandon her.

"Sarada went with him, so it's going to be just you and me. Just like in the old times," Kakashi said lightly, earning a faint smile from her.

"I have other visitors, you know," Sakura pointed out with an arched brow. "You said they went where?" she asked about her family.

"So which book do you prefer? I recommend the new Icha Icha Love Pentagram, but Tactics is an old and much beloved classic," Kakashi said, ignoring her question as he pulled out the two books. He was obviously avoiding the topic and that instantly picked her interest. Sakura looked at him with calculation, trying to figure out what he was hiding from her.

However, her head was starting to feel heavy from too much intense thinking. She decided to let the matter drop. She trusted Kakashi's judgment and she trusted Sasuke to protect Sarada with his life, so wherever they went, she was safe with him.

Sakura shifted around and made herself comfortable. "The new book is fine with me..." she requested softly.

"Great choice, actually I think the new author surpassed Jiraiya with this one," Kakashi said. He flipped the trashy romance novel open and started reading to her out loud. He had a nice, soothing reading voice and soon Sakura was lulled to sleep. She didn't even last through a whole chapter.

When she drifted off, Kakashi briefly stopped reading to look at her with concern. His student seemed so small and vulnerable, reminding him of that young, fresh-faced genin that needed his protection. Except that now Sakura was a powerful kunoichi. And she was fading too fast.

 _You better hurry up, Sasuke. She needs you, more than you can imagine,_ Kakashi thought and continued reading in silence.

.

"Sasuke-kun and Sarada-chan. What a pleasant surprise to see you back so soon," Orochimaru greeted them in a simpering tone as he slithered out of his shadowy dungeons.

"Orochimaru, I need information about a cure for chakra illness," Sasuke stated his business bluntly. He wouldn't waste time to play nice with the old snake.

"Ah yes, I heard that Sakura-chan is very ill. You realize that even if I had a cure, it can still be too late to save her," Orochimaru said. "Some antidotes don't work if you don't give them immediately."

Sasuke's eye flashed crimson, but when he spoke, he was entirely composed. "I already told you, my wife isn't that weak."

"And yet, you keep coming here to ask for my help to save her. I'm starting to see a pattern," Orochimaru commented with a nasty chuckle.

Sasuke and Sarada glared at the snake Sannin in unison. The family resemblance was so strong that it prompted another laugh out of him.

"Are you going to help or not?" Sasuke demanded coolly.

"Of course I am. I'm a reformed man, aren't I? And it would be so sad to see Sakura-chan pass away before her time," Orochimaru said in a darkly delighted tone that suggested he thought quite the opposite. "Come." He turned and started walking away. Having no choice, the Uchiha duo followed.

"Can he really help Mama?" Sarada whispered to her father in doubt. She didn't forget how the last time the DNA test she'd taken at this place was wrongly interpreted by Suigetsu. It didn't inspire her confidence in Orochimaru's methods.

Sasuke gave Sarada a pat on the shoulder. "He will if he knows what's good for him."

"My, my, no need for threats, Sasuke-kun. Have some faith in your old mentor," Orochimaru said and stopped at the door with a 'Lab 1' sign. "You're in luck, my best researcher is back on the base." He opened the door. "Karin. Say hello to our guests."

Sarada, who was still wrapping her head around the mentor slip, gasped in surprise when she recognized the woman who came out of the lab. It was the same red-haired woman with glasses that she had mistakenly assumed to be her real mother.

Karin adjusted her glasses. "Sasuke. Long time no see," she said in a brusque manner. Then her cool eyes moved to the girl, widening in shock. "Is that...?"

"This is my daughter, Sarada," Sasuke introduced.

"Hello, Karin-san," Sarada said politely. "It's nice to finally meet you." Karin was staring at her strangely and it made Sarada slightly uncomfortable and self-conscious. Did she have something on her face? She surreptitiously wiped around her mouth, expecting to find crumbs from her last snack, but there was nothing.

"Aren't you going to let us in, Karin?" Orochimaru said and Karin woke from her trance.

"Right, sure, whatever. Come in," she said distractedly.

In the lab, Sasuke gave the two copies of Sakura's medical file and the research notes pertaining to her illness. Orochimaru and Karin would then cross-check this information with their database. It was going to take some time before they got any results, so the Uchihas were escorted to a lounge.

"Would you like anything to drink? Ice tea, juice, soda?" Karin offered, rummaging through the cupboards.

Sarada was about to ask for tea, but her father beat her to it. "We're fine. You can go."

Karin shut the drawer loudly and turned to say something back but one pointed look from Sasuke had her swallow back the words. "Fine," she said quietly and left them alone, shooting a glance at Sarada.

"Papa, that was rude," the girl commented with a frown. "And I'm thirsty."

"Here." Sasuke gave her his canteen. "I told you not to trust anyone in this place."

"You think they'd try to poison us?" Sarada asked with a doubtful frown and took a drink.

"Not necessarily poison, it can be some strange new drug. With Orochimaru, you never know. He sometimes likes when his subjects don't know they're experimented on. Says the data is more honest that way," Sasuke explained with a faraway look.

Sarada gasped in outrage. "Isn't that... illegal? He can't just make people into his guinea pigs without their consent! Does the Seventh know about this?"

Sasuke regarded her with amusement and sadness. Her passionate reaction reminded him so much of Sakura. His wife never forgave the snake Sannin for his many heinous crimes.

"He knows, which is why Orochimaru was put on a tight leash after the war," Sasuke said and patted Sarada's head. "Don't let down your guard here."

Sarada nodded and gave back the canteen. Then they waited.

And waited.

The girl was dozing off on her father's shoulder when Orochimaru and Karin returned with the results of their search. Sasuke sat up straight on the couch, waking Sarada, and looked expectantly at the Sound nins.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well, Sakura-chan has a truly fascinating case of a rare chakra disorder. Quite unique," Orochimaru said. Sarada was unnerved by his praise for her mother's illness. He completely didn't care that it could kill Sakura.

"Is there a cure?" Sasuke got straight to the point.

"There might be..." Karin replied. "We once had a subject with a very similar condition. You heard of him. Kimimaro of the Kaguya clan."

"He wasn't cured, only died in battle," Sasuke remembered. "How is that going to help Sakura?"

"The old research on his illness and treatment should be useful to Konoha medics. And..." Karin hesitated, wringing her hands, "... I need to come with you."

"Why?"

"I was Kabuto's assistant back then. And I'd like to study Sakura's chakra myself," Karin explained.

Sasuke pinned her down with a piercing look, then closed his eyes. "Very well." He swiftly got up to his feet. "Get what you need for travel. I'll be outside."

Sarada jumped to follow him as he navigated the confusing corridors easily, as if he already had them memorized. Karin and Orochimaru trailed behind them for a while before disappearing. There were a few traps on the way, which Sasuke disabled without breaking a stride. Sarada's appreciation of her father's ninja skills grew along with her determination to become even better than he was.

Sasuke was marching so fast that he got far ahead, while Sarada stayed behind to check if the other two were coming. She caught a wisp of conversation that clearly wasn't meant for her.

"This is probably your last chance. If you play your cards right, they won't realize a thing." Sarada recognized Orochimaru's quiet rasp.

"I know," came Karin's equally low reply and then they came into view from behind a corner.

Sarada sped up to reach her father who was waiting back at the entrance, his posture emanating impatience. Her head was swimming with questions. What Orochimaru meant? Karin's last chance for what? She was getting a really uneasy feeling about this.

"Let's go," Sasuke ordered when Karin joined them.

"Before you go, Sasuke-kun, there's something I have to ask you," Orochimaru said. "What will you do if you fail and your Sakura-chan dies?"

Sasuke paused, jaw clenched, body taut with volatile energy rolling through him. Everyone held their breath. Karin even took a cautious step back from him.

"She won't die," he finally ground out.

"Of course," the Sannin agreed with a placating, fake smile plastered on his face. "But if she does, that could be interesting... for both you and your child." Sarada shuddered when his cold, snake-like gaze slid over her. "Even the world..." Orochimaru mused.

"Another interesting thing could be your severed head on a pike," Sasuke responded evenly.

Orochimaru let out a creepy chuckle. "Ah, forgive me. I was being insensitive. It's only because of my scientific curiosity. Is the curse of hatred truly broken? I still wonder..."

"Then stop wondering and wasting my time, old man. We're leaving." Sasuke closed the topic and turned with a sweep of his cloak. He headed out with Sarada and Karin on his heels.

The way back to Konoha took significantly less time. Sasuke set a merciless pace and during the few short breaks he agreed to, Sarada was too wiped out from the mad dash to talk to him about what she overheard, not that they had any opportunity to speak in private. The girl noticed that the older kunoichi was even more winded than her, though Karin didn't voice any complaints. She didn't speak up at all, only shot them both strange looks. Those aimed towards Sarada's father were filled with a certain sadness and longing.

When Sasuke took the lead again, Sarada decided to approach Karin as they hopped on the trees.

"Do I look strange? You keep staring at me," she opened the conversation.

"I do? Sorry. It's not like that. I was only thinking you really grew up. The last I saw you, you were still a baby," Karin explained.

"It's been fourteen years," Sarada deadpanned, getting a snort from Karin.

"Yes, you're right. I _didn't_ think you'd stay little forever," she said, then her expression softened with a shy smile. "I'm happy you're wearing my old glasses."

Sarada's eyebrows shot up. "They were yours?"

"Yes, when I heard from Sakura about your eye problems, I sent them as a gift. She had to change the lenses to your prescription, but the frames were in good condition. You look nice in them."

"Thanks..." Sarada didn't know how to react to unexpected praise, so she grasped for another topic. "You were my father's teammate, right? What was he like?" she asked.

Karin gave a surprised look. "Sasuke? Well, he was... commanding. You couldn't go against his orders even if you wanted. And he was strong. So powerful that it was sometimes scary. But it was also comforting, to be at his side, like nothing could ever hurt you..." she trailed off, eyes clouding in reminiscence.

"I see..." Sarada hummed thoughtfully. She remembered Karin's blushing face from a team photo and her dreamy tone now confirmed some of the girl's suspicions. The red-haired woman still held a flame for Sarada's father.

Unsure what to do about this nugget of information, Sarada upped her pace to break away from the woman. She couldn't make up her mind about Karin. She genuinely didn't seem like a bad person, but she was working for Orochimaru. Sarada decided to reserve her judgment and discreetly keep an eye on the woman. Just in case.

The trio arrived in Konoha late at night. Karin was brought to guest lodgings to rest, so she could join the medical team in the morning. Sasuke and Sarada despite the late hour went to see Sakura. They took only a peek at her from the door.

"We're back, Mama," Sarada whispered softly before Shizune chased them out of the hospital.

Sarada didn't remember how exactly she got back home. Her father must have carried her. She sank on the soft mattress of her bed and immediately fell asleep.

In her dreams, a snake strangled her mother and then the world burst into black flames.

.

.

AN: Thanks for reading! I hope the chapter wasn't completely predictable. Please review and see you next time :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Syncope**

 **Chapter 5**

 **.**

After her light knock didn't get any reply, Shizune cautiously opened the door to Sakura's room and peeked inside. Sasuke occupied the chair at the bedside, a fixture she became familiar with since Sakura's hospitalization. His full attention was on his ill wife, watching her every rattled breath with rapture, like it could be the last, which wasn't that far from truth. Shizune's heart clenched in a sympathetic pain. Sakura was a dear friend and a fellow disciple of Tsunade and seeing her struggle for her life and slowly lose felt like a personal failure for the medic. Sakura certainly didn't deserve this, not when she had such a devoted husband losing his mind with worry over her. And poor Sarada-chan, she also didn't deserve to lose her mother so soon...

Shizune had already vowed to herself that she'd do everything possible to save Sakura's life. With the time passing and no results, the chances for success were getting slimmer, but the new data brought from the Sound base as well as Karin's help could be enough to make a difference. Shizune wasn't going to give up just yet.

She coughed lightly to signal her presence to the Uchiha. He swiveled his head robotically towards her. With one glance of her trained medic eyes she recognized that he was suffering from sleep deprivation. "I came to change her IV," Shizune said softly and after a few seconds of delay, Sasuke inclined his head in a silent understanding.

Shizune swapped the IV bag that was running empty with a new one. Sakura was too weak to spare energy for normal eating and digesting, so she was given the necessary nutrients straight into the vein, along with her medication. Ironically, her weakness was precisely caused by the same chakra blockers. They were what stopped her chakra from wreaking havoc on her body but at the same time they robbed her of her strength. She was left with only the minimum of chakra to keep her alive and even that chakra was viciously eating through her, like an acid.

"How much longer?" The scratchy, unused voice startled her.

"Sasuke-san?"

"How much longer will it take? You have to find the cure, before it's too late," Sasuke said.

"I know. We're doing the best we can. Believe me, everyone here wants to save Sakura," Shizune assured him with a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"She won't survive on everyone's wants and good wishes," Sasuke shot back with a glare. "With every moment, she's slipping further away. She needs the cure and fast," he enunciated sharply, like he was talking to a particularly slow person, his eyes filled with contempt towards her like she was incompetent. Like she was a quack, a fraud, a failure.

And suddenly, that was the last straw.

"I know that!" Shizune burst out, her impressive composure crumbling like a house of cards. "What more do you want me to do?! These things take time! We're dealing with something completely new here! I can't just give her some untested medicine, I need to be sure it's safe or it might just kill her!" She took a huge gulp of air after the rant, then she slumped tiredly and slid down the wall into a crouch. "I'm trying my hardest to save her, I swear..." she whispered, looking into her hands like they were holding a secret key to the universe. A few drops fell onto them, taking her by surprise. It couldn't be rain, she was inside the building... That's when she realized with a sob that she was crying.

 _Damn. So unprofessional. Tsunade-sama would have my hide... "Never show your emotions to the patients and their families. You can cry, scream, puke, just do it out of their sight and earshot," that's what she used to say._

Shizune rubbed her face dry with her sleeve and stood up. To her surprise, Sasuke was holding out a water bottle to her with a slightly contrite look on his face. She accepted the peace offering and took a sip, the cool water soothing her raw throat from the inside.

"Thanks..." Shizune said and drank some more. Feeling refreshed, she screwed the bottle's cap. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled."

Sasuke averted his gaze back to his wife. "It was entirely my fault. I pushed you too far... It's just difficult to watch Sakura like this..." he said. Even though he was too proud to simply say sorry, Shizune recognized the apology for what it was.

"There's still time," she told him. "She's not critical yet. Thankfully, her chakra attacked her core first, instead of the brain. It's possible to reconstruct all other organs, only the brain is irreplaceable. As long as it's intact, she has a fighting chance."

The words were only meant to comfort. When the results of Sakura's next full body scan came in, Shizune was kicking herself for jinxing it.

The aggressive chakra was moving up towards Sakura's brain. She had only a few days left, a week tops.

Only in rare moments Shizune ever hated her job. Healing was in her blood, she loved being a medic-nin. But when she had to go and tell the bad news to Sakura and her family, seeing their hope in her slowly extinguish and the despair settle in made the bile rise up in her stomach.

Sakura took the news stoically. Maybe she was too weak to muster any sort of emotional response. The resignation with which she closed her eyes suggested she'd already sensed this coming.

Sasuke also didn't make any sort of a scene, though his face took on a grey pallor and his fists clenched on the material of his pants. He only inquired about the usefulness of the data he'd brought and Karin's study into Sakura's chakra. Shizune rushed to assure him that they were indeed getting closer to finding the cure.

However, now they were running against the clock. And she had no idea if they'd make it in time to save Sakura's life.

Sarada took it the hardest. At first the girl went still, eyes wide with shock, pleading with Shizune to tell her that this wasn't true, that her Mama wasn't going to die. Then her lower lip trembled and Sarada ran out of the room, a hand over her mouth stifling a cry.

Shizune felt truly awful after that talk. Instead of going straight back to work, she took a detour to the hospital roof. She needed a breather, five minutes to herself. She leaned on the railing and looked to the horizon. The reddish sunset over Konoha was pretty, but in her eyes it seemed too ominous in the current circumstances. Shizune released a deep sigh.

"I need a drink," she muttered to herself.

"Sorry, I didn't bring any. Hospital rules and such," came the unexpected reply.

Shizune jumped up and whirled on the spot. "Kakashi-sama?!"

The masked ninja made an exasperated sound. "I told you a million times to drop the 'sama'. I'm not even a Hokage anymore, there's no need for formality."

"Yes, yes, Kakashi... sama," Shizune replied. She couldn't resist to tease him like that. It was an old joke between them from the time she had worked as his assistant. "Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "I like sunsets. And I overheard about Sakura's condition."

Shizune gripped the railing tight and braced herself for literally anything—pointless rank-pulling, questioning her ability, threats of demotion, laying blame on her shoulders...

"How are you holding up?" Kakashi asked instead.

"Me?" she repeated, taken aback. So there was one thing she wasn't prepared for. He was asking about her? But it was Sakura who was ill...

"Yes, you." He cast her a shrewd look from the half-lidded eyes. "Sakura's illness is hard on all of us, but you're her friend _and_ her medic. That's a double burden on you. So how are you doing, Shizune?"

"I... I..." she stammered, feeling so touched that someone actually took her into consideration. "Honestly? I'm just... so tired. I want to save her so much, but it's like the closer I get to the cure, the more it slips away from my grasp. I just want this to be over."

Kakashi laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her a brief squeeze. His calm strength flowed into her and grounded her. "If anyone can do it, it has to be you. You are Tsunade's apprentice, after all," he said with a full confidence in her.

Shizune blinked back her tears. "Thank you..."

"Speaking of, when this is over, I'll get you that drink you wanted. So let's both do our best, okay?" Kakashi said with a wink and teleported away in a swirl of leaves.

"... You're just going to skip on the bill like always," Shizune muttered, but she was smiling a bit. Their talk made her feel ready to continue working until she found that damn elusive cure.

One way or another, she was going to have that drink, however she vastly preferred to drink in celebration, not mourning.

.

Sarada tore through the hospital hallways at a full speed, barely able to see anything through the tear-stained glasses. Her Mama was going to die in a few days and nothing made any sort of sense anymore.

Until now, Sarada endured the changes in her life caused by her mother's illness with maturity. She didn't complain even when she often felt lonely and sad by herself at home, she just gritted her teeth and focused on her training and missions. She did the chores and cooked for herself. She studied the medical texts on her own, hoping to find some way to cure her mother. She even managed to go with her father on a mission, despite her presence being completely unnecessary in the end. Sarada did all those things because she was convinced that her Mama would be healed soon and everything would go back to normal. She'd have her parents back with her and their family would be happy again. Instead, Sarada learned that all her efforts to help amounted practically to nothing. No matter what she did and how hard she tried, her mother was still going to die.

Sarada couldn't accept that. Every fiber of her being rebelled against such a blatant injustice. The sheer wrongness of it repulsed her on a visceral level. Sarada couldn't take this standing, so she ran.

She ran half-blind until she crashed into someone and went down on the floor in a tangled mass.

"Sarada? What's the matter?" a woman beneath the crying girl asked in clear worry.

"Mama... she's going to..." Sarada couldn't say it, she just sobbed harder.

"... Let me help you first." Sarada accepted a hand up. The red blur of a person took off Sarada's glasses, wiped them on her sleeve and gave them back. When Sarada finally saw who it was, her blood boiled as her feverish mind latched onto the most logical theory for her mother's condition that she could think of.

"You! This is all your fault!" Sarada burst out. "You want her to die!"

Karin frowned, at once put on guard. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend you don't know! I heard what Orochimaru told you! You didn't come here to help my mother! You're here to make sure she dies, aren't you?!"

Sarada's loud accusations attracted more people and a crowd started to form around them. Karin looked around for a backup, to no avail. Her lips pressed together in displeasure and she crossed her arms defensively.

"Kid, I don't know what you heard, but you've got it all wrong. Orochimaru has nothing to do with my reasons for coming here," she said. "I understand you're in distress and can't think clearly. Go home and get some rest."

Sarada's fury rose to the point her Sharingan involuntarily activated.

"You're lying! You think I didn't notice my mother getting worse since you came to Konoha?!" she shouted, hands balled into fists. "I know this is your doing! You-"

"Sarada!" a sharp command cut her off. Her father made his way through the surrounding people.

"Papa!" Sarada cried out in relief. Her father was going to take care of everything now. "You need to arrest her, she's working for Orochimaru-"

"Sarada, that's enough," her father said as he reached her.

"But, Papa, she's killing Mama!" Sarada protested.

Sasuke shook his head, brow marred with disapproval. "I said 'enough'," he repeated sternly and put a hand around his daughter.

"But..." she looked up at him with a wounded disbelief. The culprit was right there and he was just going to do nothing? "But she's..."

"Karin's innocent." Sasuke briefly lifted his calm gaze to the pensive woman to check on her, then turned back to Sarada. "Don't take your grief out on her. Nothing good would ever come out of it, only more pain," he spoke with a distant look as he stroked Sarada's temple. "Sometimes... people just die and it's no one's fault."

"P-Papa..." Sarada whispered brokenly, convinced at last. She sagged forward, buried her head into his shoulder and cried her heart out, hugging onto him tightly. Somewhere in the background she heard Karin's raised voice, barking at the crowd to stop gawking and get lost.

Sarada gave up. She didn't care about anything anymore. In that moment, she was just a scared teenage girl who didn't want her mother to die.

.

Sasuke slipped into Sakura's room, no longer caring that the visiting hours were over. He figured that with the time limit on his wife's life, he had the right to spend with her as much of the time she had left, to the very last second.

Her vivid green eyes, underlined with heavy bags, seemed much paler in the moonlight as she gazed at him from the bed.

"Sasuke-kun... I knew you'd come..." she murmured lifting her hand. He grasped it gently, lacing their fingers together.

"Of course," he replied hoarsely.

"How's Sarada? I'd talk to her, but..." she gestured at herself, hooked to the IV and other machines.

"She's... not taking it well," Sasuke said, deciding not to mention the extent of their daughter's devastation or her outburst at Karin. The situation was handled, no reason to stress Sakura. "She's sleeping at home now. I called Ino to watch over her for the night."

"That bad, huh?" Sakura commented with a knowing look. "That child... I worry about her." She bit her lip hesitantly. "Sasuke-kun, when I'm gone..."

"No. There's still time," he fiercely objected, though he was just trying to convince himself.

"Let me finish," she said firmly. "When I'm gone, take care of Sarada. I trust you with her... like you trusted me."

He just shook his head mutely. "Without you... I don't know if I can do this. You deserve all the credit for raising her so well. I was gone for so long..."

Sakura touched his cheek tenderly. "It doesn't matter. You are a good father, Sasuke-kun. I know it and Sarada knows it. You don't need to hold her hand. Just be there when she needs you and everything will be okay."

Sasuke put his hand over hers and closed his eyes, savouring her feather-light touch on his skin. "Alright," he uttered.

"Two more things," Sakura said after a pause. She was getting tired from all the talking and her breathing was becoming laboured. "The slug summoning scroll... I want Sarada to have it... If she chooses to sign the contract... Katsuyu-sama will teach her Byakugou..." She then told him the secret location of the scroll.

"I promise she'll get it," Sasuke assured his wife.

"Good..." She gave him a tired smile. "The other thing... Burn my body... I don't want a burial... Give me a funeral pyre... like an Uchiha."

He nodded, even though the finality of her request, the certainty of her own death made his insides twist into knots. "As you wish," he replied thickly.

She grabbed his wrist with a surprising strength.

"Don't leave... a single strand... of my DNA... laying around..." Sakura said with difficulty. "I don't want... Edo Tensei..."

"I won't allow it," Sasuke replied vehemently and she relaxed. He understood her request all too well. Just the idea of some new maniac using that abomination of a technique on his wife, desecrating her body and treating her like a puppet, roused a murderous rage inside him.

Sakura's breath was now loud and wheezing, and something rattled in her chest dangerously. Then she covered her mouth and coughed hard. When she took her hand away, it was slick with blood. Sasuke wordlessly took it and wiped it clean with a tissue, meticulously rubbing between fingers until there wasn't a speck of blood left.

When he was done, he laid her hand down on the covers. "You should rest now. I'll stay," he said softly.

Sakura inclined her head a tiny bit, too drained to move and speak. A shiver went through her once, then twice.

"Darling, I'm cold..." she whispered. "So cold..." She raised her gaze to him. "Would you..."

She didn't manage to finish, but it was easy for him to guess. Sasuke toed off his sandals and slipped under the covers next to her, laying on his side in the small hospital bed. He pulled Sakura into his arms and held her close to his chest, running his hand over her back smoothly up and down. He used to hold her like this, in their own bed, where they shared all their love and nothing stood between them. With a painful clench of his heart, he realized that he could count her ribs.

In his embrace Sakura warmed up quickly and his steady heartbeat lulled her to sleep.

"Sasu...ke...kun... I love... you..." he heard her softly whisper.

He held her a little bit tighter. Then he buried his nose in her hair and inhaled, looking for her own rose-like scent under the sharp smell of medicine and soap. It was barely there, faint but still present. Just like her life.

Sasuke held onto his wife desperately, as if it could stop her from being taken away from him. And only then, in the privacy of the isolated hospital room, under covers with Sakura asleep in his arms, he allowed himself to break into tears.

.

.

AN: Thank you for all the reviews! It keeps me writing.

Please let me know your thoughts about this chapter too and see you next time :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Syncope**

 **Chapter 6**

 **.**

With a long sigh, Karin straightened up in her seat, rubbing at her neck. She developed a crick in it because of the sleepless night she'd spent bent over the microscope and analyzing numerous samples of Sakura's tissue and chakra from different days in hope of finding what the best qualified staff of medics in Konoha had missed. Basically, a fool's errand. The woman took off her glasses and rubbed at her dry eyes. No doubt her sclera were now red from the burst blood vessels, and with her usual red iris the overall effect must have looked nightmarish.

Not only her eyes couldn't find the cause of Sakura's illness, Karin's best sense—her chakra sense—detected nothing unusual from the samples. They were inert and lifeless and only gave confirmation that outside Sakura's body her chakra became passive again.

Karin blindly reached for her mug and took a swig, which she spat out right away. The coffee had gone cold long ago. She stood up and went for a refill to the break room outside the lab. As she walked like a zombie, her groggy mind thought idly about everything and nothing.

While the water boiled, Karin splashed her face with cold water, brushed her teeth and combed her mussed hair. The minimum of personal grooming made her feel more like a human being. The fresh coffee helped sober her up too. She should've probably headed back to the lab and tried to solve the enigma of Sakura's illness, but she felt like it was a pointless endeavour. Nothing would come out of it. She'd just waste her efforts and Sakura would die in the meantime. Orochimaru was right in his predictions, just as expected.

 _What am I even doing here? Why should I bust my ass for nothing?_ Karin thought bitterly as she sipped on her coffee. She liked it dark and strong, no sugar or cream.

She came to Konoha mostly for Sasuke's sake. Even without her extraordinary chakra sense she could tell how much he was suffering. His dark and turbulent chakra reminded her too much of how he'd felt like when he'd been consumed by revenge against Konoha. Sasuke was at the end of his rope and it was all because of one person—Sakura. His wife. It was still hard to believe that he'd married and settled down.

Karin decided she'd rather be there by his side in those last agonizing moments instead of cloistering herself in the laboratory. She didn't need to concentrate to track him, his powerful, yet subdued chakra was placed right next to the flickering candle of Sakura's and that's where Karin's feet took her.

A gut feeling made her hesitate by the door to the hospital room. Sakura's weak chakra felt off for some reason, unlike in the samples. Even from the short distance, Karin still wasn't able to pinpoint what was so strange about it. Intrigued, she knocked and entered.

The sight of Sasuke holding Sakura's hand caused a painful twinge in Karin's withered heart. She never got over him. Even if she did, he'd always remain her first love and she supposed he'd be the last too. There was just no one who would ever measure up to him.

"Karin." She'd never get tired of hearing her name in Sasuke's deep voice. Even though she was aware that he didn't mean anything special by it, the way he said it never failed to thrill her. "Why are you here?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm here to... study Sakura's chakra. The samples are dead," Karin came up with a believable excuse.

She didn't think it through well enough, because now they both expected her to actually do her study. Sasuke even got up from his chair to let her sit. Karin took the seat and focused on Sakura's chakra. It was so weak and sluggish, while at the same time highly acidic.

Karin frowned.

"Well? Did you find something?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"I'm... trying..." she gritted out through her teeth. A bead of sweat rolled down her temple from sheer effort. Karin searched and... nothing. She let go and sat back with a sigh, releasing the breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"It didn't work. Sorry," she informed them with a head shake.

"Try again," Sasuke demanded.

"I can't. There's nothing there!"

Sasuke started to look murderous, when Sakura spoke up softly. "Give her a rest... It was a long shot anyway." Their gazes met in an intense stare as something indescribable passed between them and Sasuke's angry chakra quietened in an instant. Karin's lip unconsciously twisted in a bittersweet grimace and she averted her gaze from the silent exchange she wasn't privy to. It still killed her that no matter how hard she'd tried to get close to him, she had no sway over Sasuke's heart, while Sakura could affect him so effortlessly.

To distract herself from the throb in her old wound, Karin looked at the IV. She read the label on the attached bag that listed the medicines. Her eyes widened with an epiphany and she turned to look at Sasuke speculatively.

"Darling, I want anmitsu. Could you bring me some?" Sakura suddenly requested.

"Sakura, you're not allowed to eat anything," he reminded her in puzzlement.

"I know, but still... I'd like some," she admitted with an air of embarrassment. "It's my favourite dessert, you know. I just want to try it one last time, before it's too late..." she explained, then bit her lip. "Oh, forget it, I'm just being silly. You're right, I shouldn't eat anything."

Sasuke looked like someone just brutally punched him in the gut. He swallowed. "No, I'll get it for you," he said in a strangled voice. "But I don't want to leave you. Not now."

"Maybe Karin can sit with me? Just until you come back," Sakura suggested, startling her.

"Ah, sure. No problem, I can do it," Karin found herself agreeing.

With nothing else to keep him from going, Sasuke headed out after shooting Karin a warning glance. She understood the message—he counted on her to keep watch over Sakura in his stead.

"You have some idea," Sakura commented.

"What?" Karin blurted out. How did Sakura notice?

"I saw the look you got, like you came up with something... but you didn't want to say it around Sasuke-kun."

Karin realized she underestimated Sakura. Despite the illness, she stayed on top of her game like the elite kunoichi she was. The redhead adjusted her glasses the same way she adjusted her evaluation of Sakura.

"Do you trust me?" she asked at length.

Sakura smiled warmly. "Of course. You're my friend."

Wordlessly, Karin got up and ripped the IV bag off the stand, cutting off the medicine that flowed into Sakura's body and kept her alive.

.

 _Fourteen years ago..._

Karin had sensed Sasuke coming from miles away. How could she not when she was so attuned to his powerful chakra? Even from a distance, it sent an excited shiver down her spine. In the years after the war she saw him very infrequently. He never sought her out without a purpose, but Karin didn't lose hope that one day he'd finally return her feelings.

This time something was different. Karin concentrated on his location. There was another strong chakra accompanying him. Its warmth was familiar and made her think of the colour pink... With a pang, Karin identified that person as Sakura, Sasuke's old teammate. He brought her along, even though he always made a point to travel alone, so as not to endanger anyone by associating with him (Karin had once asked him if she could come and he'd flat out refused).

But, Sakura was a new generation Sannin just like him, so that had to be the only reason he'd allowed her to come, right? And then there was some other chakra with them Karin wasn't able to quite make out because it was so small and dwarfed by their overpowering energies...

When Sasuke appeared on her doorstep, Karin was prepared. She changed her clothes, brushed her hair and put on a subtle make up. She needed to look her best in front of the guests, right?

After the knock, she counted twenty seconds, then opened the door.

"Sasuke!" she exclaimed. "You should have sent a hawk! I didn't expect... you..." she trailed off when her eyes landed first on Sakura's bulging stomach, then on Sasuke's sole arm wrapped around her in support.

"Hi, Karin," Sakura greeted. "Sorry to come unannounced, but it's sort of an emergency," she said apologetically, then winced and rubbed her stomach.

"I-I see..." Karin said faintly, staring at her in shock and incomprehension.

"Karin." Sasuke brought her out of her daze. "My wife's going to give birth soon and you're the only medic in the area. Will you help us?" he asked.

Wife? Wife!? That one word crushed and burned whatever remained of hope in Karin's heart. As the numbness spread, she stepped back and allowed them to come inside.

She took Sakura to the unused room, which had belonged to Kabuto in the past. Despite her medical training, Karin had no prior experience as a midwife. She knew about it only in theory which she forgot in her panicked state. Ironically, it was Sakura who calmed her down and gave her instructions to follow, guiding her through the process while at the same time enduring the extreme pain of contractions and childbirth. Sasuke didn't leave her side, holding her hand, wiping the sweat from her brow and quietly encouraging her.

After the child was born without any complications, Karin was the first person to hold the baby girl in her arms. Sasuke's daughter. Her chakra was so tiny and bright, like a little sun. It carried traces of her parents' energies mixed in while being so different and unique. The beautiful sensation filled Karin with amazement.

She passed the baby to the exhausted mother. Sasuke leaned in close to Sakura to look at their child, completing the family portrait. Karin's breath caught. His lips were curved in a gentle smile shining with pure love, the smile she had been longing to see since she'd glimpsed it once in the Forest of Death, so many years ago. Sasuke's smile now belonged to his wife and daughter. And Karin realized that she'd never really stood a chance.

With a lump in her throat, Karin turned her back to them. Her glasses were getting foggy, so she took them off and wiped them vigorously.

"I'll give you some privacy," she muttered an excuse to leave.

"Karin, wait." Sasuke said and against her own will, she looked over her shoulder. He still had that soft smile on. "Thank you for your help. I owe you."

She stared at him in surprise, coming to a decision.

"No," she finally replied with a head shake. " I don't want you to... owe me. Besides, I heard that in Konoha friends do each other favours all the time, no repayment needed and... I'd like to think that after everything we've been through we can be... friends." She finished with a hopeful look, while on the inside her heart was bleeding. But this was the only way to preserve their bond. It was too precious to her to give up on.

"Of course we're friends," Sakura spoke up from the bed, the motherly glow surrounding her. "And I have something for you, Karin." She gestured for her to come closer, then held out the umbilical cord. "This is for you, to remind you of today."

"I can't, this should be yours," Karin protested, getting flustered. She knew how important the umbilical cord was as the symbol of connection between a mother and a child. However, Sakura took her hand, put the cord in it and closed Karin's palm around it.

"Keep it. I want you to have it. It's just a token of gratitude for what you've done for me, for us, today. Thank you," she said with a gentle smile. Sasuke nodded in full agreement.

Karin was rendered speechless, tears stinging her eyes. Why they were so kind, too kind to someone like her? She didn't even do anything special, any other medic or midwife could've done the same or better! Sakura stole the man of her dreams, Sasuke unknowingly broke her heart, but now Karin couldn't even hate them. She was completely... defeated.

"Th-Thank you... I'll take good care of it," she said hoarsely, accepting the gift.

She kept her word for the next fourteen years. The umbilical cord became a precious symbol of her bond with Sasuke and his family. But it also had another significant meaning known only to Karin—it reminded her of her private vow to protect Sasuke's happiness.

.

Karin was inspecting the fresh sample when Sasuke found her. He came in deathly quiet, but she sensed his presence easily.

"Karin," he said her name. He kept his outside cool, but on the inside he was infuriated.

She sighed, sat up and looked at him. "I can explain."

"You should." He pierced her with a look. Thankfully, he didn't activate the Sharingan yet, so he was willing to listen. "Why did you leave Sakura's side? She's gotten worse. _For no reason_ ," he said, his tone suggesting that he thought that reason had something to do with Karin. He wasn't wrong, though the kunoichi made sure to reattach the IV bag to the stand after she'd collected the sample of Sakura's chakra.

"How much time does she have?" Karin asked.

"Hours," Sasuke bit out.

Karin made an estimate, then nodded. "That should be enough time."

"Time for what?" he asked, getting increasingly frustrated.

"For me to save her life," Karin replied with a smirk which only became more pronounced at Sasuke's stunned expression. "I couldn't get a read on her chakra, because it was too weak, so I had to take her off the chakra blockers for a while. But it paid off!" she assured him with a finger raised up to make her point when he looked about to go off on her for recklessly putting Sakura's life in jeopardy. "I found the chakra virus that causes her illness. I am sure it was made from Kabuto's old bio-weapon design, which he based on Kimimaro's disease."

Her explanation made Sasuke even more confused. "But Kabuto is now working in the orphanage..."

"Someone must have finished his old work. But it's a good thing I recognized it," Karin told him. "Kabuto included a failsafe in the virus—you can turn it off with a seal."

"And you know this seal?" Sasuke asked.

"No, but I'm going to find it," Karin replied, gesturing to the paper seals strewn on the table before her. "I'm trying them on the sample one by one. When I find the right one, we'll use it on Sakura."

He grunted, skeptical but desperate enough to cling to the small amount of hope she gave him. "Karin, if it doesn't work..." he began, his mind turning to the worst turn of events.

"Then you can do whatever you want with me. Punish me, kill me, burn me, I don't care," she replied seriously. "But it _is_ going to work. I'm sure."

Karin returned to her seals with determination.

.

Three hours later, Sakura's family and closest friends gathered in her room to say their goodbyes when she was still conscious. Sasuke and Sarada took the place at her bedside, Ino, Naruto, Kakashi and Sai right behind them. Only Tsunade was missing as she was still out of the country, but Shizune was watching Sakura like a hawk in case her vitals plummeted again.

Sakura was smiling wearily. "Everyone... you didn't have to come..." she uttered. She didn't have energy to speak above a whisper.

"What are you saying, Forehead?" Ino asked. "We absolutely had to come... because we all love you, you dummy..." she said through tears. Sai put his arm around her back comfortingly.

"Ino-Pig... save the tears for the funeral... I'm still alive..." Sakura griped.

That startled a few feeble smiles. Even on the verge of death, Sakura still retained her spunk.

Naruto kneeled next to the bed. "Sakura-chan, is there anything I can do for you... anything you want, just please don't die," he begged. His damp eyes appeared even bluer than usual.

Sakura squeezed his hand lightly. "Thanks, Naruto... I have one request, just in case... Take care of Sasuke and Sarada for me, will you? You know how stubborn they can get... Don't let them sink into darkness because of me..."

"I won't let that happen. You have my word," Naruto swore passionately.

"Hokage's word, huh? Is it better than... the promise of a lifetime?" Sakura said with a teasing glint in her eyes.

"You bet it is, Sakura-chan," Naruto told her in a thick voice. "You bet it is..."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but instead she coughed harshly, blood splattering on her front. Black chunks of flesh that had been part of her lungs were mixed in with the blood. The illness was literally tearing her internal organs apart, piece by piece.

Shizune made a move to get up and clean the mess, but Sasuke was faster. "I'll take care of this," he said, already wielding a wet cloth. He wiped around Sakura's mouth, then cleaned her shirt as much as he could with a practiced ease.

"Water..." Sakura rasped.

Sarada quickly grabbed the filled glass and put the straw to her mother's lips. After Sakura took a few small sips, she was ready to talk again.

"Thanks..." she said softly. She tried to lift her hand to touch Sarada's cheek, but she couldn't, so the girl grabbed it and put it there herself. "You've grown so much... One day you will become a great Hokage..."

"But I need you to be there, Mama," Sarada pleaded, all choked up.

"I'll be watching over you, always..." Sakura said with an angelic smile, then her eyelids dropped shut. "So... tired..." Her lips barely moved to form the words.

"N-No... please don't go..." Sarada was openly weeping. Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder silently, a frown marring his face. Sakura was fading faster than expected.

The door opened so abruptly that it banged on the wall and Karin rushed in. "Let me through!" she snapped out and shouldered roughly past Ino, who naturally took offense.

"Who do you think you are?! No one invited you here! Let us say our goodbyes to Sakura in peace!" she shouted indignantly, while Karin already set herself up at Sakura's side.

"You're wrong, I was invited, and with this," Karin held up a paper seal, "there won't be any need for goodbyes."

Before anyone could interfere, Karin put the seal on Sakura's chest and pumped chakra into it. The seal glowed blue and the light from it enveloped Sakura's body for a second.

"Did it work? Why isn't she waking up?" Sasuke asked anxiously after a moment passed and Sakura still didn't stir.

"I-I don't know, the seal should work!" Karin cried out. "The virus should be deactivated now! It worked on the sample, I swear! It worked!"

That's when Sasuke realized that the soft wheezy sound of Sakura's breathing had ceased. The heart monitor flatlined, releasing a long alarming wail. "Shut up and do something!" he ordered in the rising panic.

Karin clumsily made handseals for a medical jutsu, hands trembling from nerves.

"Let me," Shizune immediately pushed her aside and took over with a poise of a veteran medic. She put a respirator over Sakura's mouth, then she started the resuscitation, pumping the patient's chest. One... Two... Three...

"Sakura! Don't you dare die! You have to live!" she screamed.

Shizune desperately kept at it, but Sakura's heart just wouldn't start beating. Kakashi had to pull her away from the bed. "You need to stop. It's over," he said quietly, shushing her even as she fought to get out of his grip and go back to Sakura.

With a loud sob, Ino hid herself in Sai's arms. He remained stoic, only the sad downturn of his lips revealing that he shared his wife's pain. Naruto's shoulders were shaking and he bowed his head, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he mourned one of his oldest friends. Even Karin looked stricken.

Sarada and Sasuke were staring numbly at the bed, where their most precious person just died, their Sharingan eyes welling up with tears. Sasuke slid down onto his knees and took a hold of his wife's cold hand, then pressed his lips to it in a brief kiss.

"Sakura... no..." he uttered in despair. _Not again..._ Didn't he lose enough? His parents, his entire clan, his brother and now even his wife had to be taken away from him? Was he truly meant to be alone in this world?

"Mama... why... why her..." Sarada was crying her eyes out next to him, equally shattered by their loss.

Shizune got a grip on herself at last. She wiped her tears and looked at the clock. "T-time of death..." she began, but she didn't get to finish.

A surge of chakra blasted from Sakura's body, making everyone gasp. The Byakugou seal lit up and the purple markings unfurled over her skin. The powerful healing chakra set to work, repairing all the damage in an instant as the steam drifted from her body.

Sasuke leaned in closer, watching her face for a sign of life, his heart racing in the burst of hope.

Suddenly, Sakura inhaled sharply and her eyes fluttered open. Sasuke was stunned by how gorgeous they were, now that he had thought he'd never see them again. Sakura's gaze locked onto him, the first person she saw upon waking, and she smiled with tenderness.

"Darling, I'm back." Her soft voice was like music to his ears.

"Aa," he replied hoarsely and kissed her, pouring all his love and relief into the kiss.

Sasuke didn't give a damn if people saw them. The only thing that mattered was that his wife returned to him, alive and well. Sakura was healed.

Behind him, the room erupted into cheers.

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AN: Thanks for all the reviews! The reader response to the story really floored me :) From the start, my intention was to save Sakura and I hope I wrote it in a satisfying way.

Please let me know your thoughts about the chapter!

Next time: Epilogue.


	7. Epilogue

**Syncope**

 **Epilogue**

 **.**

Once there was a boy who barely made a genin. He had no particular talent for any of the ninja arts and just coasted around with bare minimum of skill required. However, he quickly found out he had a knack for tinkering and scientific research. He joined Konoha's R&D division where he became quite successful until in his early thirties he got promoted to a head of department.

One of the most formative experiences of his life was the Pain Invasion. He would never forget the giant summons trampling all over the village and the technique so powerful that with one hit it turned Konoha into rubble. He was lucky enough to survive that and witness the large-scale battle between Uzumaki Naruto and Pain. It was inconceivable that one person could wield this much power and cause so much destruction and only a person of similar power was able to stop it.

That's when the genin decided on his ambition—to create inventions that would allow normal people to defeat the S-rank ninjas. He wanted to level the playing field, or so to speak.

As the head of his department, the man gained access to the old research taken from the Sound Village remnants after the Fourth Shinobi War. That's how he got his hands on Kabuto's unfinished design of a chakra virus. The man realized that such a bio-weapon would give enormous advantage to Konoha, especially with the ability of targeting specific people as it carried no risk of spreading the disease among population like any natural virus. In fact, the chakra virus was the most deadly to high-level ninja who possessed great chakra reserves. At last, the man found his dream invention.

The scientist submitted his proposal to the Hokage, the same great Uzumaki Naruto who had inspired him many years ago, asking for permission and funding for the secret bio-weapons development. To his complete surprise, the proposal was flat out rejected. The incensed scientist asked for the reason.

After some subtle digging, he found out that it was Uchiha Sakura, the genius medical ninja and a close personal friend to the Hokage, who had vehemently opposed his bio-weapons project. She deemed it unethical, dangerous, unnecessary and even 'warmongering'!

The man tried to fight for his proposal, but he was shut down at every turn, so in the end he dropped the matter before it damaged his career. But inside he was seething. He craved revenge on that high and mighty Uchiha medic-nin and he knew just the way.

In secret, the man finished the work on the chakra virus. Even for a person with genin skills like him, slipping the virus into Uchiha Sakura's tea was a child's play. The man rubbed his hands together and waited for results.

The kunoichi lasted much longer than he thought was possible but in the end even she succumbed to his virus. The scientist was observing her deteriorating state with delight. If even the best medic in the world couldn't heal herself, it only meant that he created an invincible weapon!

Nothing had ever given him such a rush like the knowledge that he killed his first S-rank ninja without exchanging a single blow.

But the man had much bigger plans than just revenge. He was going to produce and sell the virus to any buyer, for the right price of course. So what if Konoha didn't want the fruit of his labour? It was their loss. There would be many other interested parties.

The man was waiting in an abandoned warehouse for his first customer to show up. He was holding a suitcase with the virus in the increasingly sweaty hand, which he wiped on his pants. Knowing the risks of coming there in person, but unwilling to share profits from the exchange with a middleman, he took precautions to protect his identity, like not using his real name and wearing a henge.

A cloaked figure with a suitcase walked into the dim warehouse. That put the man on guard, though it was to be expected the client would want to remain anonymous too.

"You're finally here. Do you have the money?" the scientist asked.

"The goods first," the cloaked person demanded shortly in a muffled voice.

"Together then," the scientist suggested.

They both opened their suitcases, one was filled to the brim with cash and the other had a vial secured inside. The man nodded in satisfaction.

"Looks like everything's in order."

"How do I know it's any good?" the customer asked doubtfully, pointing at the vial.

"I guarantee it! My new chakra virus is unstoppable. It will kill anyone you give it to and it doesn't spread to other people," the scientist said proudly. "It's one hundred percent effective! Did you hear about that famous medic-nin, Uchiha Sakura? It was my virus that killed her!"

His customer laughed out loud and threw back their hood, the unmistakable pink hair spilling out.

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," Uchiha Sakura said to the stupefied man.

"You-you should be dead! How are you still alive?!" he cried out. "My virus is invincible!"

"It's not if you know how to deactivate it," Sakura replied and cocked her arm for a punch.

But the man had one more trick up his sleeve. He'd loaded up the Scientific Ninja Tool beforehand, so he just aimed at Sakura and shot out the Rasengan at her before running off. He didn't even look back to see if the attack hit, all of his concentration dedicated to a safe escape. She still didn't know his real face.

The man reached the backdoor and wrenched it open, only to almost run into the scariest man he'd ever seen. The menacing glare from a red eye with a spinning wheel was enough for the introduction of the infamous Uchiha. The scientist turned on his heel in desperation, but Sakura already caught up with him.

"Shannarooo!" she shouted out and punched him into the floor, making a big crater. The henge dispelled, revealing the true identity of the scientist.

The supporting ninja team involved with the capture operation approached. Shikamaru took a look at the unconscious man and sighed deeply. "So it was really Katasuke... What a drag..." He thought about the Hokage's son's friendship with the criminal and winced with the beginning of a headache. Naruto would be livid. "No matter, cuff him and let's go. We need to raid his apartment and lab next," he ordered his task force.

"What's his sentence going to be?" Sasuke asked.

Shikamaru gave him a side glance. "He committed a serious crime, illegal weapon development, treason, murder attempt... He's not going to see the sun for a long time."

To his surprise, Sasuke nodded in acceptance. Shikamaru expected the Uchiha to demand a harsher punishment for a man responsible for Sakura's illness and the long months of horror their family had been put through as a result.

"I thought you'd be out for blood after what he did," Shikamaru commented casually. "You have no itch for some old-fashioned revenge?"

Sasuke snorted. "Do you take revenge on every insect that bites you?"

"That would be too troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered, getting Sasuke's point. "And now I need to find someone to take over the scientific research department, too..." he complained, unhappy with the idea of additional work caused by the treasonous scientist.

"Actually, I think I can help with that," Sakura said. "There's someone I'd like to recommend."

Shikamaru raised a brow. "Oh? Who's that?"

Sakura smiled and told him.

"I'll look into it," Shikamaru promised before he lazily waved in a goodbye and moved out with his team and the prisoner in tow.

Sakura took her husband's hand, lacing their fingers together. "I guess we're done here. Let's go, we still have a celebration to get to."

He grumbled only a little, but didn't resist when she pulled him along.

.

Shizune sighed, looking at the mountain of paperwork on her desk. Although she was extremely glad Sakura was saved, she wished she could have contributed more. It was all thanks to Karin and Sakura's own Byakugou seal that the miracle could happen.

"What are you still doing here?" Kakashi stuck his head into the room through the open window.

Shizune jumped up in her seat and swiveled around. "Kakashi-sama! What do you mean, I have work to do."

He waved it away dismissively. "It can wait. Come, Ino's throwing a party for Sakura and I remember I owe you a drink," he said with a wink.

Taken aback at his thoughtfulness, Shizune readily agreed, which she very much regretted the next day. Tsunade came back just in time for the party bearing gifts—barrels of the strongest liquor from the Land of Tea—and Shizune got completely sloshed. She was nursing a raging hangover when she realized that Kakashi had gotten her that promised drink because he didn't have to pay for it. Also, after she'd sobered up, her master mercilessly ribbed her for being such a lightweight. As a result, Shizune vowed not to touch even a drop of alcohol ever again.

.

"Do you really have to go so soon?" Sarada asked Karin. The Uchiha family came to the village gates to say goodbye to her. After Sakura had been saved, Sarada had apologized to Karin for the unfair accusations. With the air cleared between them, they started to build a rapport.

"You should come for a visit," Sakura suggested. "You'll always be welcome. Right, dear?" She turned to Sasuke who nodded.

"Actually... I'm just going to get my things and I'm coming back to Konoha," Karin admitted sheepishly.

"You're moving here?" Sarada asked in excitement. "Do you have a place to live?"

"Not yet, it's a little sudden decision, so I didn't have time to look," Karin answered.

"Oh, what caused this decision, if I may ask?" Sakura looked at her with a twinkle in her eyes.

Karin didn't mention how after experiencing the brightness of Konoha, returning to the dreary, lonely underground labs filled her with dread. She omitted that in Konoha people respected her for her hard work to save Sakura's life, while back in the hideout Orochimaru had encouraged her to do the opposite for his own twisted reasons. Karin definitely didn't want to stay around the snake Sannin after she'd refused to do his bidding. In the end, she went for a more practical explanation.

"Well, I like it here and I got a really good job offer. It's once in a lifetime chance, so I took it..." Karin trailed off, finding Sakura's grin downright suspicious. Her analytical mind immediately put two and two together. "It's your doing, isn't it?"

"Maybe..." Sakura said secretively, but the self-satisfied smirk betrayed her.

Karin shook her head and sighed, though inside she was happy with the friendly meddling on her behalf. "Well, I have to get going. See you!" she said and headed off. A short distance away, she looked back and waved one last time to the Uchiha family. Sakura and Sarada waved back, while Sasuke just raised his arm in farewell.

Karin's heart grew at his gesture but to her own surprise there was no accompanying twinge of longing. She still cared a great deal about Sasuke and it was never going to change, but... the pain was gone.

She was finally ready to open a new chapter in her life.

Karin set out, walking into the hopeful future with a genuine smile on her face.

.

The Uchiha family returned home together, Sarada walking in the middle between her parents. Sasuke watched his wife and daughter chat happily with each other. Both were safe and healthy, and this was all he'd ever wanted for them.

After the harrowing experiences of the past months and the party in honour of Sakura, this was their first quiet day together as a family. They argued over who gets to make the dinner. No one wanted to give up, so in the end they all made it together. There was miso soup with tomato and fish and rice for second dish. Sakura's eyes lit up when Sasuke served her favourite anmitsu for dessert.

Sarada already went to bed, but Sakura and Sasuke stayed up a little longer, relaxing on the couch before TV. Sasuke soaked up his wife's soft and warm presence, as she was snuggled up against his side.

"This is nice," Sakura said quietly. "I missed this... just being with you."

He hummed in agreement, feeling the same. To spend time with Sakura without anymore worry or fear was like a blessing.

Sakura yawned, then slipped out from under his arm. She got up and stretched out languidly. She gathered their empty mugs from the coffee table and ambled into the kitchen to wash them.

Sasuke stayed put, too lethargic to move yet, but his wife's sudden cry had him shoot up from his seat. He flashstepped into the kitchen just in time to swoop down and catch Sakura before she hit the ground.

Their hearts hammered from the spike of adrenaline as Sasuke helped her stand and checked her over. She seemed uninjured, but... "Are you alright?" he asked. She couldn't be fainting, not again... The virus was gone, Karin said it was gone!

"I'm okay," Sakura told him, with one look catching his inner panic. She touched his upper arm soothingly. "Really. I just slipped on the wet floor."

"Ah..." he replied and pulled her into a relieved hug. "Be more careful," he murmured, eyes closed as he touched his forehead to hers. _Don't scare me like that again..._

"Okay," she uttered, returning the embrace. "Sasuke-kun," she said and he looked at her. She was smiling gently. "It's good to be back home."

His response was to lean in for a kiss, just a soft, slow brush of his lips on hers which he never wanted to end.

 _It's good to have you back, Sakura._

 _ **.**_

 **The End**

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AN: This is it! Thank you to all of you who reviewed, favourited, followed and otherwise supported me, this fic wouldn't be finished without your encouragement!

I hope you liked the epilogue too! Please let me know your thoughts in comments :)

See you in the next fic!


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